


[Meta] The Marauders’ Childhoods

by cassie5squared



Series: Potter Meta: Thoughts on the Wizarding World [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-31
Updated: 2017-05-31
Packaged: 2018-11-07 09:43:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11056353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cassie5squared/pseuds/cassie5squared
Summary: A look at what we know of the four Marauders’ childhoods and how it might have brought them together.





	[Meta] The Marauders’ Childhoods

Has anyone ever wondered how their childhoods might have shaped those four and led to the way they treated each other?

First off, we have James, an only child raised by elderly and absolutely doting parents. He was clearly a very happy child, full of confidence that he’s a great person and likely praised often for his talent. (He’s noted to have been a gifted young man and clearly had the same ingenuity as his forebears, although he pointed it elsewhere than the potions they were known for.) I’m convinced that he grew up knowing he was special, clever and a source of great pride to his parents, and given the family’s heritage he was meant for great things. He’s charismatic, smart and not exactly ugly; that, combined with growing up so utterly loved, likely moulded him into the natural, generally kind-hearted leader he became.

Then there’s Sirius, who grew up in a household where he didn’t seem to matter as a person so much as he did a future heir of the family. His mother never appeared to be very fond of him even before his break with tradition, and given how little Sirius spoke about him, his father seemed to barely exist in his view of the world. He was clearly unhappy from a very young age, and didn’t seem to be particularly close to anyone (except perhaps Andromeda, given he describes her as his favourite) until he started school, so he was likely quite lonely. He grew up in a home of extremes and his mindset doesn’t easily allow for grey areas - he either cares deeply for you or he loathes you. It’s not surprising that he attached himself so strongly to the first people his own age who showed him even a scrap of genuine friendliness.

Remus, although clearly deeply loved by his parents, grew up with a horrific, isolating condition and under a cloud of guilt and shame. He, like Sirius, would have been very lonely given his parents kept him away from other children, and his life was very unsettled by frequently moving house. Even though he was loved, he evidently longed for stability and normality; to be treated as though he was like everyone else meant the world to him. Hogwarts could well represent the stability he craved, being somewhere he knew wouldn’t be left behind after just a few months. His loyalty to the Marauders and to Dumbledore was sealed by their unflinching acceptance of him, lycanthropy and all.

And then there’s Peter. We know practically nothing about his childhood, especially compared to the others, but a few educated guesses can be made. He doesn’t appear to have had any siblings; in fact, the only family anyone seems to have known of for him was his mother, presumably a witch. This suggests that his dad wasn’t around - dead, disappeared or just abandoned, we don’t know, but either way an important figure was missing from his life. He seemed like the kind of kid who’d be singled out as an easy target by bullies (at least before Hogwarts), which might well have contributed to his rather nervous nature, and he’d gladly have responded to anyone who was willing to look out for him.

No wonder the other three rallied to James; he met these three other boys, all likely lonely, sad and feeling like they didn’t fit in, and freely shared his own happiness with them, making them feel like they had a place with him, even if they didn’t anywhere else. He cared about them, grew to love them like brothers, and earned their friendship and love in return. The Marauders were so close because, for three of them, it was the first time they'd ever had that level of affection, security, and loyalty, and they were going to hold onto that pretty damn fiercely.

**Author's Note:**

> Please don’t yell at me about how James being a bully negates all the positive things I’ve said here. I’m well aware of the fact he was obnoxious at times, and downright nasty towards Snape. Even his closest friends admit he was a little asshole at fifteen, just a bit too impressed with himself. But he grew out of it, became a better person, and almost everyone, even people who didn’t know him well, spoke approvingly of him.
> 
> Not to mention, he was a fierce defender of Muggle-borns and half-bloods/breeds (as evidenced by the way he stood up for and looked after Lily and Remus, in particular) and volunteered to risk his life fighting one of the most evil and terrifying figures in the world just so other people wouldn’t have to suffer.
> 
> I don’t expect anyone who sympathises with the victims of James’ bullying to turn round and suddenly approve of him. All I’m trying to do is explain why I feel the people who he made happy had good reason to care about him.


End file.
